A radar-confirmed tornado in northeastern Louisiana Wednesday evening overturned trailers, downed trees and caused more damages as part of a midweek storm system.
The tornado passed over Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, approximately 65 miles northwest of New Orleans and 60 miles east of Baton Rouge. Coming early in the evening, the tornado quickly began tossing debris into the air, eventually overturning two mobile homes and injuring three individuals. None of the injuries, including to two children, were “life-threatening,” according to local officials.
According to Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller, other damages included trees being downed across the parish, along with damage done to a local gas station. The mayor of the village of Tangipahoa, Sheila Martin, said power lines were also down in the area. Martin and her family took shelter in a bathroom during the tornado.
“Then we heard this loud noise, like a train … like an extreme whistle,” Martin told Fox 8 New Orleans. “We took cover.”
The mayor said that “everyone was safe” thus far and that no fatalities have been reported. She asked for prayers from neighboring cities, saying that damage in the area was “extensive.”
AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell reported from Tangipahoa Wednesday evening, adding that he saw glass windows blown out of homes and that first responders were going door-to-door, making sure residents were safe. His view of the tornado showed the eerie scene in the sky.
The tornado comes after AccuWeather meteorologists warned that the full spectrum of severe weather was likely with the storms in the lower Mississippi Valley. Aside from the tornado, multiple reports of flash flooding came in from the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas, located 70 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
Tornado risk will decrease late Wednesday night as severe thunderstorms organize into more of a solid line. However, incidents of damaging wind gusts may increase, and there remains an opportunity for a brief, isolated tornado to spin up across Mississippi, western Tennessee and Alabama. Little severe weather is likely from the Appalachians to the southern Atlantic coast on Thursday.
Produced in association with AccuWeather.
